The proud family: life's unexpected twists
by Kayla Tsukino
Summary: Rated M for saftey, Penny finds that her first year in high school isn't all its cracked up to be. She makes a new friend, and has to face physical and emotional challenges, no young child her age should have to face.


Disclaimer standards apply I don't own the Proud family, but I do own Cynthia.

A/n: this is just another random idea so don't expect much in the way of updating.

Warning: this story may contain adult themes, as well as other material not suitable for young children. Also, if you are not into that kind of fiction I suggest you go elsewhere.

Chapter 1

The sun rose on a nice home, a figure stirring in the second story. The smell of a freshly cooked breakfast wafted up through the floorboards as a woman's voice broke through the air, "Penny its time to get up!"

The girl in question rolled over, but the call rang out again causing her to fall to the floor this time. "I'm coming mother!" came the reply, as the figure disentangled herself from her bed sheets. Seconds later, the sound of the bathroom door echoed through the house, a sign that it was now once again occupied. Moments later the sound of the shower entered the home, but was quickly drowned out by the sound of a male voice yelling loud enough to be heard ten miles away. "Trudy! Where is my breakfast!" the voice called out its owner inches from the person in question.

"You don't have to shout Oscar, I'm not deaf you know…" the woman in question retorted. "Now you don't need to be shouting at me…"

"Don't bother, Trudy, that boy is as brainless as the day he was born." Another female commented, this one sounding a might elderly. Her snow white hair could be seen slipping off to the side somewhat her eyes tightly closed behind a small pair of red rimmed glasses, that did nothing for her eyesight.

Hey mama, what is for breakfast?" Penny asked as she came down dressed for school, her father's eyes bugging out at the sight before him.

"Penny! What in the hell are you dressed in! I told you you're too young to be dressed in such a manner!" he shouted.

"But, Daddy I'm 16, and I'm not your little girl anymore. You have to let me grow-up!" Penny wined, but before her father could make an even bigger fool of himself her mother cut them off.

"That skirt is a bit too short, and that shirt could be a little longer. Please change baby." Her mother scolded softly, her voice smoother and softer then that of her father.

Penny growled and stomped upstairs to go change, coming back down with a slightly longer t-shirt on, and her signure red sweater.

"Now that is much better baby, now off to school." Her mother commented.

"Without breakfast?" Penny questioned watching her mother clean up the dishes from that morning, failing to remember her daughter had yet to sit down and eat.

"Here is some money, buy something on the way to school baby." Her mother commented handing her daughter a ten dolor bill. "I hope that is enough."

Penny sighed taking the money offered and ran out the door, as not to be late. Something felt off about her family, but she couldn't place it. Her mother never seemed that forgetful, at least not that she could remember. She never had to worry weather or not she would leave the house on an empty stomach, or go to bed the same way. Maybe school would be much better.

Half way down the sidewalk, her friends joined her on their walk to school. Even though they all were considered old enough to drive, none of them have passed their driver's Ed test, although they seemed to have been improving.

A young woman with darker skin then peney, and blonde hair done up in a poney tail resembeling that of what appeared to be a hurshy kiss rapper approached her friend. She had been the first to notice, that Peny didn't seem herself. "What is wrong Penny?" she asked a look of concern filling her voice and showing on her face.

"Have your parents ever forgotten to fix you breakfast?" Penny asked suddenly not meeting the gaze of the girl whom had just spoken to her.

"My parents had a lot on their plate, what with ten kids, but always remembered to make sure I had something to eat." The same girl replied.

"maybe, your father's brainlessness is starting to rub off on your mother proud." Another female commented.

"You know, loscinia, maybe you should step off, the blonde defended even though Penny didn't seem to hear half the conversation. She remained distracted, so that she failed to notice three ashy looking girls cross her path. They grabbed her roughly, tossing her back into her group of friends. "You know the drill, hands up cash out…" a skinny tall woman snapped seemingly the leader of their group.

Everyone but Penny complied, holding out their lunch money and any lose cash that they may have been holding. A short berely looking woman, snached the money, not leaving one cent untouched.

"I said hands up, cash out!" the leader of the three girls shouted directing the shout to Penny. Again Penny did not respond even when the skinny, but strong woman picked the girl up by her neck. The tallest, and the most muscular took a turn shaking Penny upside down for all she was worth. Her lunch money, and the money her mother had given her lie on the pavement only for a moment, until an ashy hand snatched up the precious tender. Penny then found herself eating concrete as the girls left.

Her friends cast worried glances at their friend when she didn't say anything. She just picked herself up, and continued to walk to school acting as if nothing happened. However, she remained completely distracted and hardely made it through her classes. Her teachers had grown concerned, and even oftered to send her home if she were not feeling well. She assured them she were fine, and lack of sleep was the problem causing her to be distracted. Her friends tried to get her to open up to them, to speak, but she spoke very little.

Halfway through school, a girl entered the classroom, where Penny and her friends sat. Penny had opened up enough to chat a little, but still preferred to keep quiet. However, when the sound of wheels hitting tile reached her ears, fear overtook her. She looked over her shoulder to see a girl approaching them. Her skin was pail, but had a nice helthy tint to it. Her brown eyes held so life, but failed to work.

What bothered penny so, was the fact slinder, bone-like fingers clung to mettle rims, pushing the owner forward in the wheelchair. She only met someone in a wheelchair once, and had a bad experance. This person so happened to be male, and used Penny in almost any way possible. As a result, Penny had always shown some resentment to persons with disabilities. She knew that her actions only made her shallow and gave her the labal as predigest, but her experance had left her scared inside. From that day she broke up with the man, she couldn't figure out how to treat someone with disibilites, how to talk to them, and how not to be taken advantage of.

She stopped at a back table, huge books blocking her face from view. One by one she removed the books from the stack and put them neatly in a row. Her hands glided over the top edge of the books, and when she found the one she were searching for, she placed the others in a neat stack and placed the stack on a nearby chair.

All the girls, minous Penny, begun to wisper amoungst themselves. "What is she doing?" the blonde asked.

"I don't know, but she sure is strange," commented the one known as Lacinica as she took a nail file to her already stubby fingernails.

"Don't you think that you are pre-judging her?" a pale skinned, red head commented as she turned her chair to gaze over at the girl, who by now had the book opened and appeared to be reading it. "If you ask me, I think she is reading."

"What kind of freak reads with their hands?" Lacinia asked not even turning to look.

"Its Braille, she is blind." Penny announced speaking up, joining her friends in the light conversation. She may not like the disabled, but part of her could not perpoussly diss or harm anyone, disabled or not. She could only hope, this person would be a little more indipendet and not need people to do everything for her.

"How do you know this Proud?" Lascinica snapped. "You know you don't know everything…"

"You're right, I don't know everything, but I do know how to read." Penny shot back pointing to the stack of books off to the side. "If you look at the spine, it says right there.. Print pages, and Braille pages, so ts safe to assume the book is in Braille. From the way her hands glide over the pages, Braille must be a raised form of print that the blind can feel." She pointed out.

"I knew that!" Lascinica snapped hating to be shown up as the snob she could often be. It was a wonder sometimes how the few friends she managed to obtain hung around her, when often it felt as if they would much rather be else where, especially when she would get like this.

"if you new that, then why are you hating so hard?" Penny asked. She knew she should be, but she couldn't bring herself to do it. The only person Penny thought she could such a word on, was the bitch Lascinica herself, but her Penny could put up with her as long as she had her other friends to fall back on.

Before a fight could break out, The teacher walked into the classroom causing all heads to turn to the front. The mysterious girl in the back, didn't move and continued to read. Instead of having a shouting match with the student, the teacher simply walked to the back table, and picked up a small device. "Class will begain momentarlly, please put all books away for the moment." He spoke clearly into the device. The girl shut her book, and attached an earpiece to her ear. She then pulled out some type of device, and begun to type on it.

As the teacher spoke, the girl begun to type faster and faster, matching the speed of the teacher's voice with her own typing. Soon enough class ended, and the girl had the little device returned to her. Penny and their group approached the girl while she loaded down her lap with books. She had turned off the device by this point, so when Penny spoke, she didn't hear the girl. "Hello…. I'm Penny, nice to meet you." Penny spoke as clearly as her teacher had, but this time the girl didn't respond even when a hand was extended out to her.

"What kind of freak are you!" Lascinica asked shouting into the girl's ear. It was then she noticed a small device attached to the ear. "I mean you have to ve to keep your ears plugged up like that!"

The girl hissed a danger look entering her eyes, when she spoke however though, it was a deadly calm a smile crossing her features. "Your right I am a freak, and aren't you forgetting, whale, slut, no good bitch, gutter trash, cripple, oh yeah and inhuman!" she shouted back. "why don't, don't you add brain dead and stupid as well?"

"Uh… Penny I think we better get out of here." Dee, the blonde, commented as she watched her other friend high tail it to their next class.

"I'm sorry about her, she is just rude to everyone. I'm sorry…. Again." Penny continued now that the girl appeared to be responding.

"No, its my fault really. I shouldn't have snapped, but… I've heard all this before. People are always so quick to judge me, because I'm in a wheelchair, blind, and going deaf all at the same time. When I lose, or if I lose the remainder of my hearing, it will be it for me." The girl replied, this time not snapping or using any harsh tone.

"Don't worry about it, I'm Penny by the way, what is yours?" Penny asked extending her hand out… but this time, the girl did as well searching for Penny's outstreached hand.

"I'm Cynthia…. It's a pleasure to meet you." She replied a real smile planted firmly on her face.

"No, the pleasure is all mine. Say would you like to come over some time and meet my family?" Penny invited her deminer around this girl changing dispite who she may have felt when she met the girl.

"I can't for a while, I just moved in and all, you understand how it s right?" Cynthia stated rather appoligitacally. "but, when I get settled in and learn my way around town a little more, I'd love to take you up on that offer."

"Penny's face lit up at that, "That's great! I'll be looking forward to it!" she exclaimed.

After school that day, Penny walked home in a much lighter mood then she had gone to school in. She chatted with her friends, and stopped at the mall for something to drink, having gotten some money later that day. By the time she arrived home, her parents had already jumped on her back about not coming straight home. :Typical…: Penny thought while she slunk away from her fighting parents and over to her room. There she knew she could easily relax.

The next day begun much like the day before it. Her mother had gotten distracted , but didn't fail to make sure that she got something to eat. Her father had disapproved of Penny's choice of cloths, and her grandmother spent a greater part of the morning chacing him around the house tossing various blunt objects his way. He missed getting hit by most, but some of the hardest ones hit him dead on. His screeches of pain echoed for miles even after Penny and her friends were well on their way to school.

Like almost every morning, the three ashy-looking girls stopped Penny and her friends. Once again, they demanded their money, and once again forced it out of them. However, this time the eldest of the three swung Penny a little too hard sending her into an oncoming car. The crash left Penny with no legs, severing them just above the knee, sending the limbs down the street a ways and under a parked car about a block away. Her head hit concrete effectively knocking her out, a thin layer of blood joining the steady stream from her missing limbs.


End file.
